pemeliza- yes i am one of those buyers on the sidelines that can afford to buy a home in my desired neighborhoods, but have chosen not to as i believe theres still a ways to go down. the math just doesn’t pencil out when it comes to potential rental scenarios if i needed to rent it out due to job relocation, etc. the homes on the market i can afford are just not desirable in terms of lot size, sq footage, condition, etc. i’m primarily looking in the mission hills, north park, university heights area which i think has had better staying power due to the demographics and desireability. i’d like to think better homes will come on the market as more downward pressure is put on these areas.
secondly, i have uncertainty about my earnings / career looking forward the next few years due to a number of reasons. while i could buy even if my earnings were to dip significantly and i have the safety net to pay the mortgage for a significant length of time, that is not my ideal scenario, call it being conservative, so hence i sit on the sidelines. i’m interested to see what happens this year with loans resetting and principal balances kicking in for the large swath of IO prime loans, whether jobless claims continue to rise, and whether the gov’t intervention runs out of steam.
